The Depraved Lich (Part 2)
I was completely at a loss for words at the lich’s behavior. I knew the character had a pervert setting, but he had never shown anything like this while I was playing the game. ‘No. Actually, he didn’t show it this time either.’ I had only seen it because I secretly observed him with Mind’s Eye. But why in the world was he doing that with a golem?
The way that pink rod trembled was obvious to anyone what it was meant for. I genuinely couldn’t understand how a guy like this had become a lich.
“What’s wrong?”
Luden, standing beside me, tilted her head with a puzzled expression. Hmm. How was I supposed to explain this? Telling her that the lich we came to kill was currently experimenting with a vibrator on a female golem was out of the question. I scratched my cheek and gave a vague answer.
“It’s nothing. I was simply considering how best to approach the situation.”
“Can’t we just charge in?”
“We mustn’t let our guard down, Miss Luden. The student council wouldn’t have entrusted us with this request for no reason.”
“That’s true, I suppose.”
Sorry. The truth is I just didn’t want things to get awkward if we barged in on that. I swallowed the rest of the thought and slowly breathed in the mana lingering in the air. Dense power began to gather in my hand.
-Vwoong.
I quietly poured mana into the Bow of the Beginning. A bow formed from pure magical energy materialized.
‘Since it’s come to this, I might as well test out Ppiyak-i.’
I used the newly acquired Familiar Summon. In the next instant—
“Contractor! Art thou offering me chicken?!”
Ppiyak-i appeared, flapping its wings while already chanting about chicken. Luden’s eyes widened in surprise at the sight.
“A phoenix?”
“Ah, yes. I formed a contract with it recently.”
“My word…”
She seemed genuinely fascinated and studied Ppiyak-i closely. The phoenix, however, paid her no mind and began pecking at the top of my head.
“Contractor. Deliver the chicken at once!”
“If you help me, I’ll give you some after we’re done.”
At my quick suggestion, Ppiyak-i nodded and bestowed its power upon my arrow. The next moment—
-Fwoosh!
Blue flames flickered along the shaft. The fire looked anything but ordinary. Miroel’s voice rang with admiration as she examined my arrow.
“Ohhh. I can feel considerable power within it.”
I silently agreed with her. Even though flames danced along the arrow, it caused me no harm at all. ‘Just how precise is its control?’ Why did a creature with such mastery obsess over chicken of all things? The world truly was full of mysteries.
“Then let us begin with a preemptive strike.”
With those words, I drew my bow and fired at the lich, who was still busy experimenting with the vibrator on the female golem.
Ten minutes before Baran fired his arrow.
The lich stared at the female golem he was researching, lost in deep thought.
‘It’s still not enough.’
In life, he had been a fairly renowned mage. Most wizards would have at least heard his name once. Yet there was one thing he had never accomplished: losing his virginity.
“Hoo…”
While alive, he had devoted himself entirely to magical research. To him, research was life. But after becoming a lich and continuing his studies, a certain thought had begun to surface.
‘Is this really the right way to live?’
He had gained a long life, yet he had become a lich in an even weaker state than before. And all he did was research magic. Nothing else. As a result, the lich had reached one conclusion: he should try doing what he had never done while alive.
What he chose was sexual desire.
He had never held a woman. He had planned to do so this time, but then he became a lich. Left with no choice, he began using adventurers who came here as materials to create golems. He even crafted an item that dramatically amplified sexual urges.
“Hoo. Perhaps it really is better to do this with a living human.”
-Vrrr. Vrrr.
As the lich fell into deep contemplation while staring at the vibrating toy, he suddenly felt a warm sensation from outside.
“Hm?”
When he turned his head, blue flames were rushing straight toward him.
“What?!”
Caught completely off guard, the lich hastily erected a barrier. The next instant—
-Kwaaaaaang!
The lich’s laboratory exploded.
I clicked my tongue inwardly at the scene unfolding before me. ‘That wasn’t an arrow. That was basically a bomb.’ One shot had produced an explosion worthy of a grenade. Even though the arrow had only received a tiny fraction of Ppiyak-i’s power due to my low mana, its destructive force was impressive.
“Ugh! Who dares—?!”
An irritated voice reached my ears. When I shifted my gaze, I saw the lich holding a pink vibrator. Luden’s face turned bright red at the sight.
“W-what kind of lich carries something like that?!”
She was so flustered that steam seemed to rise from the top of her head. At that moment—
“Kuh! How dare you interrupt my sacred research?! I’ll kill you all!”
The lich released a wave of demonic energy, clearly furious. Was this the aura of a once-renowned mage? The power radiating from him was considerable.
‘Still, this much is more than enough to handle.’
If he were in his prime it might have been different, but he had already weakened tremendously. It was no coincidence that the protagonist in the original story had taken him on alone.
“Miss Luden.”
At my call, Luden nodded. She reinforced her body with mana and—
-Shing!
Drew her sword and charged at the lich. Her speed was on an entirely different level from before. It seemed she had been training diligently.
-Whoosh!
Luden swung her blade in a clean, efficient arc. The lich raised the vibrator to block.
-Kaaang!
Her sword was stopped by the vibrator. I was utterly dumbfounded. ‘Wait, it actually blocked a sword?’ The material had looked unusual, but who could have predicted it would stop a blade? The rest of the party wore similarly stunned expressions.
Then it happened.
-Uuuuung.
Tentacles made of demonic energy sprouted from the lich’s body. Of course his magic would be just as perverted as he was. Luden frowned and swung her sword.
-Slice!
The tentacles were severed by her strike. However—
-Squirm.
The tentacles that had absorbed the lich’s demonic energy regenerated instantly.
‘Normally he would use consumables here.’
Perhaps because this was reality and not the game, Luden didn’t use any items. She simply kept swinging her sword, slicing through the tentacles again and again.
‘At this rate, she might be able to finish it alone.’
Honestly, there wasn’t any major growth moment for Luden in this episode. It was mainly just a side story to raise the student council president Elza’s favorability.
“Contractor. If you use my power, we can eliminate that regenerative ability.”
Ppiyak-i flapped over and spoke. Trusting its words, I created another arrow. Ppiyak-i once again bestowed its power upon it.
-Fwoosh.
Blue flames flickered along the arrow just like before. I nocked it naturally and focused my gaze on the lich.
“Hup!”
I held my breath and released the string. At the same time—
-Boom!
One of the tentacles rushing toward Luden exploded. The lich frowned in annoyance and tried to regenerate it, but—
“?!”
-Fwoosh.
Blue flames clung to the tentacle and prevented regeneration. His pupils shook at the unexpected interference.
In that instant—
-Huuuung!
Luden seized the opportunity and swung her sword with all her might. At the same time—
-Whoong!
A golden blade wave shot forward from her sword. The lich hurriedly tried to block it with the severed tentacles.
-Kwaaaaaang!
Dust erupted from where the lich had been standing. When it cleared, the lich was revealed—cut cleanly in half, just like his tentacles. Normally, a single slash like that wouldn’t have been enough to kill him. But Luden’s mana possessed the same property as a hero’s. For a lich, it was the worst possible matchup.
“Hoo…”
Luden took a shallow breath and moved in to finish him off. At that moment—
“So your panties are pink, young lady.”
The lich left those final perverted words while looking up Luden’s skirt. Her face flushed crimson at the sudden sexual harassment. Without hesitation, she began hacking the lich to pieces.
While Luden was busy dismembering the lich—
-Cough!
Dark red blood spilled from my mouth. It hadn’t been that long since I summoned Ppiyak-i, yet my body was already feeling the strain. As expected, a 1st-tier familiar wasn’t just for show.
‘Still, I should be fine for a while.’
Wasn’t that why I had tackled the lich together with Luden? And right on cue, a message appeared.
Sub-Quest Completed!
You have cleared the student council request together with Luden.
Reward: Mana Recovery Bracelet
Additional Reward: Experience Points
I raised the corner of my mouth as I read the message. All while completely unaware that Luden was currently looking at me with a serious misunderstanding in her eyes.